"We were inches from certain death": Family-of-four"s lucky escape as their car explodes seconds after they dive out of burning car

'We were inches from certain death': Family-of-four's lucky escape as their car explodes seconds after they dive out of burning car
Stuart and Luesa Tasker rescued their daughters with seconds to spareFord Escort burst into a fireball without warning in LincolnshireBaby Ayda-Mai managed to sleep through the whole ordeal

By
Olivia Williams

PUBLISHED:

13:04 GMT, 20 February 2013

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UPDATED:

13:28 GMT, 20 February 2013

A young family escaped their burning car with seconds to spare when it burst into flames while they were driving then exploded seconds later.

Stuart Tasker, 26, and his wife Luesa, 23, were travelling back from a friend’s house in Lincolnshire with their young children Amili, two, and 11-week-old Ayda-Mai when they began to smell burning.

Rescued from the backseat: Quick-thinking parents Stuart and Luesa Tasker managed to save their two young daughters from their burning car

He said: 'We had only driven about 200 yards when we could smell something burning – like when you get a hair in a hairdryer.'

As they pulled up at traffic lights in Sleaford on Sunday afternoon Amili started screaming from the back seat.

Mrs Tasker turned around to see flames coming from the back foot well inches from her daughter's legs.

Wreckage: The burnt out Ford Escort that Stuart and Luesa Tasker and their children escaped with seconds to go

The parents managed to free their two young girls from their car seats and rushed away as fire engulfed the vehicle.

The couple turned back to the flaming wreckage of their Ford Escort to see it explode just 10 seconds later.

Mr Tasker was full of praise for his wife, saying: 'I've got to say my wife was amazing because she could have just froze. But she was just like The Hulk and ripped the belt off my youngest and got her out.'

Fireball: The Ford Escort exploded in Sleaford, Lincolnshire where it had to be extinguished by the fire brigade

'We turned around and the car just exploded into a fireball. We were inches from certain death.'

Shocking pictures taken by Mr Tasker show the remains of their charred vehicle.

'Looking back at the pictures afterwards, it brings home the terrifying reality of what happened.'

The Tasker family: Stuart and Luesa Tasker with their young children Amili, right, and Ayda-Mai, left